The John W. Engeman Theater is working to foster a culture of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA), within our theater. We will actively work towards valuing and respecting all people, their identities, and their histories. We denounce harm against any individual based on their identity, including race, particularly in the form of anti-Blackness or anti-Asian; religion, whether anti-Semitic or Islamophobic; nationality in the form of xenophobia; gender, specifically transphobia and misogyny; age; class; sexual orientation in the form of homophobia; immigration status or ability. We want to re-empower those who have had their power diminished for the privilege of others.

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Our commitment to IDEA work will be ongoing, imperfect and with the intention of correcting and learning from missteps when they cause social or cultural harm. It will require examining our own imperfections and opening channels when it is time for us to listen. While the John W. Engeman Theater has worked to uplift marginalized voices in our art, we are committed to doing more. We are committed to the immediate and long-term work necessary to dismantle systems of oppression. The John W. Engeman Theater recognizes that, as a prominent arts institution, we have a responsibility to be introspective and take ownership of how our actions affect various communities. We also acknowledge that in the theatre world we are complicit. The land we are on, the artists we work with and the staff that operates our theaters have been exploited by these systems.

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We take ownership of the following living statements, which represent specific areas in which the John W. Engeman Theater is actively working to learn and grow. We present them here as part of our accountability to these ongoing efforts. Our ensemble of artists is engaged in their own process of introspection and will be sharing their commitments in the time ahead. We expect these statements to change as our culture and institution evolve.

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